Innovation Takes More Than Bright Ideas

by Tine Thygesen for ForbesIf you search for "innovation" or "entrepreneurship," Google will present you with glowing light bulbs. They obviously represent the "good idea," the typical mental image of innovation. But behind any successful new product or company, the idea is actually the easiest part, and is of little importance, relatively speaking.Even the entrepreneurial industry are caught up in the concept of the good idea. They talk about idea competitions, idea feedback and idea generation. All this gives the impression that the idea is the most important element to success. Nothing could be further from the truth.Instead, it’s execution that’s the core of entrepreneurship, whether it’s done by startups or corporate. Successful entrepreneurs and innovators don’t have better ideas than anyone else, but they pursue them more vigorously and actively. They start testing with calling 100 people to hear whether they would purchase this if it existed. They persist when things get difficult. They tweak, alter and listen to market feedback. When we romanticize the idea in itself, we ignore the thousands of hours of work between idea and success. This is a misunderstanding that makes people give in too early.Read More →